February 2021

www.aftermarketonline.net FEBRUARY 2021 AFTERMARKET 3 CONTENTS BUSINESS 8 Big issue: A plan comes together 12 LKQ Euro Car Parts: Digital revolution time? 14 Andy Savva: Opening up the floor 16 Eurorepar: Year for cautious optimism? 18 Top Technician/Top Garage 20 TechMan: 2021 fast-start TECHNICAL 22 Frank Massey: Setting the bar high (part.1) 24 Kalimex: Add more value IN FOCUS 26 Batteries and chargers 28 ECOBAT: Smart choice 30 Brakes 32 MOT 34 Diesel 36 Oils and lubes PLUS... 38 Nissens expands A/C 39 General products/Competition 40 Andy Savva/Lincoln College 42 IAAF Annual Conference 46 Coronavirus round-up 48 Training update 50 Teabreak 21 IS GOING TO BE A GOOD YEAR? Editor | Alex Wells alex@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 345 Contributors Colin Benzie | Leo Freebairn | Andy Hamilton | Frank Massey | Andy Savva | Nick Taylor Commercial Director | Ryan Fuller ryan.fuller@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Area Sales Manager | Daniella Gavin Daniella@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 349 Operations Manager | Ewa Hodden ewa.hodden@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Project Liaison Manager | Emma Floyd emma.floyd@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Finance Manager | Clare Jackson clare.jackson@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Publishing Director | Ian Atkinson ian.atkinson@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Published by | DFA Media Ltd 192 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1BE Alex Wells, Editor Average net circulation July 2019 to June 2020 23,616 aftermarketmagazine @aftermarket01 ISSN 2516-9149 Aftermarket is published 10 times a year and is sent free of charge to applicants meeting the publisher’s criteria. All others may subscribe at £60 per anum, £120 Europe and £150 rest of the world. While every care is taken to provide accurate information, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or ommisions, no matter how caused. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior consent of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. Copyright: DFA MEDIA LTD 2021. I n the December/January Editor’s Welcome, reflecting on the impact of COVID-19 I let my guard down and started liberally quoting from APOCALYPSE NOW. Well, blow me if it’s not 2021 and in the light of us all being flung into Lockdown #3, I’ve gone all Coppola again: “Just when I thought I was out,” said Michael Corleone in THE GODFATHER PART 3, recently re-cut and re-released as THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE, “they pull me back in!” Talk about timely. Here we are again. It’s the same as before, and also not. While we were all getting used to staying in again, across the Atlantic, maniacal not-so-merry pranksters in face and body paint, wearing buffalo skins, were storming the U.S. Capitol to protest the result of November’s presidential election. Now, there’s a sentence I never thought I’d have to write. It looked like the Munich Putsch re-staged for a modern audience by bombastic U.S film director Michael Bay, crossed with an especially deranged spaghetti western. Maybe the world has gone insane. Mercury is in retrograde, “set the controls for the heart of the Sun…” Let’s try and focus on the positive. “Got a feeling 21 is going to be a good year” The Who once sang. Well, we have multiple vaccines providing hope of a more normal life after a whole host of false starts last year. Meanwhile with much of the economy shut down, again, garages are able to stay in operation, meaning the sector is able to keep doing what it does best. There are challenges ahead however. The MOT exemption will have distorted the shape of the market for MOTs for years to come. Meanwhile, there are still a whole host of problems further down the road with regards to access to information. Let’s focus on the positive though. For one thing, Top Technician is looking to allow five more semi- finalists into the 2021 competition, and so we are running a streamlined competition to enable some of you to do just that. Turn to page 18 to find out more. Another great development is that Andy Savva, The Garage Inspector, is now seeing his training incorporated into a college course. Tun to pages 40-41 for the details. Andy is also writing for us as usual on pages 14-15, where he is explaining how all the wisdom in the sector needs to be shared. We also have some forward-looking positivity from LKQ Euro Car Parts on pages 12-13, with CEO Andy Hamilton examining whether our unique circumstances necessitate a digital revolution. Fellow Top Technician and Top Garage sponsors TechMan are also looking at how to get a fast start to the year. That’s on pages 20-21. We also hear from Eurorepar on pages 16-17, where all the reasons for optimism are examined. On the technical side, Frank Massey is beginning a multi- part odyssey that covers how get got to the bottom of a problem with an Audi S3. Strap in when you reach pages 22-23, it’s going to be a bumpy three months. Kalimex are also with us again on pages 24-25, looking at how additives can add value. Add to that features on batteries and chargers, brakes, MOTs and oils and lubes and a look at the IAAF Conference from December, then you have a packed issue to absorb. Surely that is a good start to 2021 in itself!